The Mission - Blue (1996)

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The Mission - Blue (1996)

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A slight return to form for the Mission, Blue suffers from being too little, too late. The greater part of their fan base had dissolved in the wake of the pedestrian Masque, and goth rock itself had mutated into the more metal-influenced stylings of bands such as Type O Negative. Although the songwriting is a step up from the previous two albums, the sound is still hopelessly dated. Songs like "Drown In Blue" and "Dying Room" might please the diehard Mission fans, but it's unlikely the band will make any new fans with this record.

~ Jim Harper

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The Mission - Blue (1996)

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The Mission:

Formed: 1986, Leeds, England
Genres: Rock
Representative Albums: "Sum and Substance", "Salad Daze (The BBC Radio 1 Sessions)", "Resurrection: Greatest Hits"
Representative Songs: "Tower of Strength", "Wasteland", "Deliverance"

Derided by critics as pompous, melodramatic, and bombastic, the Mission, as they were known in their native U.K. (their name had to be changed in America owing to a Philadelphia R&B band with the same moniker), nonetheless attracted a core audience of goth rock fans. The Mission was formed in 1986 by guitarist/singer Wayne Hussey and bassist Craig Adams, who both left the Sisters of Mercy to do so. (Hussey had also played with the Walkie Talkies and Dead or Alive.) The two recruited Artery guitarist Simon Hinkler and former Red Lorry Yellow Lorry drummer Mick Brown and called themselves the Sisterhood, to which Sisters of Mercy leader Andrew Eldritch objected strenuously. The Mission released two successful independent singles in the U.K. and signed to Mercury in 1986. The group soon completed its debut album, God's Own Medicine, which critics lambasted as ponderous and derivative of Led Zeppelin and Yes, but the album produced several U.K. hits anyway. The band toured extensively in the U.K. and America; Adams had to return home from the latter after suffering from exhaustion. Produced by Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, Children widened the band's audience, reaching number two on the U.K. album charts. 1990's Carved in Sand shed some of the Mission's Zep fascination for more refined songwriting. Hinkler left the band midway through the supporting tour and was eventually replaced permanently by Paul Etchells. Meanwhile, several Mission members backed Slade members Noddy Holder and Jim Lea on the Christmas charity single "Merry Xmas Everybody." By 1992, Hussey was the only original member left; following the 1994 Sum and Substance retrospective, he recorded the 1995 album Neverland with a new Mission lineup. Blue followed a year later, with the greatest-hits retrospective Resurrection appearing in fall 1999. The 2001 album Aura was followed by a world tour that slowly saw the new lineup dissolving. By the time God Is a Bullet arrived courtesy of the 2007 version of the band, Hussey was living in Brazil. He announced that the Mission would actively promote the album through early 2008, after which he would be focusing on solo work.

~ Steve Huey

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The Mission - Blue (1996)

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The Mission - Blue (1996)

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